Our Team
Matthew Farrell - General Manager | Orchestra Brisbane
Matthew Farrell, in addition to being the General Manager of Orchestra Brisbane, has held executive roles in major performing arts companies and is a professional musician who has held principal cello positions with the Queensland Philharmonic and Queensland Symphony Orchestras. Solo performances have included concerto appearances with various Australian orchestras including world premieres of concerti by Kent Farbach and Moya Henderson.
His recent roles have included CEO of SunPAC (Sunnybank Performing Arts Centre), CEO role part time with the national Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition. He was Director, Orchestra Management at the Queensland Symphony Orchestra for 12 years with responsibility for production, musicians and commercial projects.
Matthew has a long history of involvement with music and arts development including participation on several State and Federal inquiries and taskforces. Matthew was Board Chair of 4MBS FM for 11 years and has been an active member of the 4MBS Board since 2006. He also has co-directed the 4MBS Festival of Classics.
Contact: matthew.farrell@orchestrabrisbane.com
Sean O'Boyle - Cultural Ambassador
Awarded the Order of Australia (AM) in 2015 for his services to music, Seán O’Boyle is an internationally acclaimed composer and conductor whose works have been performed by every major Australian orchestra and leading ensembles worldwide, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt, and Belgrade Philharmonic. In North America, his music has been championed by the Atlanta, Dallas, Fort Worth, Minnesota, and Cincinnati Pops orchestras, among others.
As a conductor, Seán has led hundreds of performances across genres—jazz, orchestral, opera, world music, ballet, and rock—appearing at iconic venues such as the Sydney Opera House, Avery Fisher Hall (New York), Queen’s Hall (London), and Roy Thomson Hall (Toronto), as well as major festivals throughout Australia. His prolific recording career includes more than 150 CDs with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
He has collaborated with renowned artists including Dame Evelyn Glennie, James Morrison AM, William Barton, Delta Goodrem, Tommy Emmanuel AM, Kate Ceberano AM, and Romina Arena. Milestones include composing the ABC’s official broadcast theme for the Sydney 2000 Olympics and writing music performed exclusively for Queen Elizabeth II at the 2002 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
In opera, Seán has written two children’s/family operas staged by Opera Queensland, the Adelaide Fringe Festival, and Tulsa Opera (USA), with more than 700 performances to date. In ballet, he has composed four works for Queensland Ballet—Cloudland, Concerto for Didgeridoo, Aladdin, and The Wise Woman—touring both Australia and Europe.
A passionate advocate for Indigenous Australian music, Seán co-composed the acclaimed Concerto for Didgeridoo and Orchestra with William Barton. He works closely with the didgeridoo maestro, Chris Williams and together they have produced several dozen works.
Craig Dabelstein - Music Librarian and Research
Kirsty Foster - Technical Support / Web Design
Orchestra Brisbane Board of Directors
Chair - Matthew Farrell Vice - Chair - John Foster
Treasurer - Bernie Girard Secretary - Lisa Holownia
Member - Yoram Levy Member - John Coulton